Undetermined Deaths in Leeds 2011-2013

Stage of Process Number

Stage of Process Number of Cases End of Stage One 553 End of Stage Two 263 End of Stage Three 213 Table 2: The number of cases included at each stage of the audit process From the files identified at the end of stage two, three could not be obtained from the Coroner’s Office and one inquest was yet to be heard at the time of data collection. Forty-six cases were excluded because either they were found to be outside of the Leeds Local Authority boundary or because there was insufficient evidence to suggest the death was a suicide. 20

Key Findings Demographics The data from the 2011-13 audit demonstrates that overall there were 213 deaths attributed to suicide. This has increased from the 179 deaths identified in the previous audit. The rate of death from suicide was 9.5 deaths per 100,000 people inLeeds. The rate from the previous audit was 8.1 deaths per 100,000. The rate of death from suicide has increased slightly. The most common age group was those aged 40 to 49. This was also found in the 2008-10 audit. 141 (82.6%) of the cases were male. This has increased from the previous audit which found 79% were male. The number of men compared to the number of women has also increased: men were almost five times more likely to take their own life than women. It is worth noting that in England men are three times more likely. The rate of suicide in men has increased since the previous audit whereas the rate in women has not – the increase in the rate of suicides inLeeds is due to an increase in male suicide. 173 (81.2%) of the cases were White British. The majority of both men and women were White British. The rate of suicide in White British males (23 per 100,000) was significantly higher than White British females (4.1 per 100,000), Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) males (9.6 per 100,000) and BME females (2.3 per 100,000). White British males were over twice as likely to end their life by suicide as BME males; White British females were nearly twice as likely as BME females. This clearly demonstrates that White British males are the group most at risk of suicide withinLeeds. Deprivation and Geography Looking at the geographical distribution of suicides, a pattern has emerged that appears to correlate areas of high deprivation to areas with a high number of suicides. It was found that 55% of the audit population lived in the most deprived 40% of the city. This shows a clear relationship between deprivation and suicide risk within the Leeds population. 21